Alessandro parked his rental sports car in the winery’s lot and glanced around. The little white ranch house stood at the corner of the vineyards, framed by the sprawling hills of Paso Robles. He made his way to the house and sank onto the old wooden swing on the porch. The view was breathtaking, the vibrant colors of the sunset painting the sky over the rolling hills. The scent of dinner cooking drifted through the air, enhancing the cozy, inviting atmosphere of the white ranch house. After a while, the door creaked open, and Ava stepped out.

  “I was expecting you,” she said with a smile and a calm, welcoming tone. “Come on in, dinner’s ready.”

  “I’m starving. What’s for dinner?” Alessandro asked, his tone mirroring Ava’s calmness.

  “Mushroom tacos with chimichurri sauce, fried tofu, and creamy sweet potato casserole,” she replied, her voice warm with pride.

  “Sounds amazing. House wine?”

  “Of course. House wine.”

  Alessandro had the most peaceful dinner he’d had in a long time. As they ate, Ava spoke of the winery. She told him about how her mother had inherited the winery from her family, and how she’d transformed it into a thriving business, turning it from a modest family affair into something with real reach. Ava’s eyes lit up as she described how she grew up in the small town of Paso Robles, a place where the rhythm of life was slow but steady, and where everyone knew each other by name.

  She spoke of Ristorante L’uva, the family-run restaurant they had opened together, and the passion they poured into every dish and glass of wine. Alessandro could hear the pride in her voice as she mentioned Logan’s recent plans to expand her business further, making it a staple in the region.

  Alessandro listened intently, enjoying the life in her words, feeling the weight of his own thoughts lifting. The world outside felt so far away as he sat there, with Ava.

  "Is that white thing called tofu?" Alessandro asked, eyeing the crispy cubes on his plate as Ava refilled his wine glass.

  "Yes. You’ve never had tofu before?" Ava raised an eyebrow, enjoying his Italian way of judging food.

  "No," Alessandro admitted. "Is it okay if I don't eat it?" he asked trying to be polite despite his uncontrolled despise of the little cubes on his plate.

  "Of course," Ava replied with a smirk. "You're free to skip it."

  Alessandro smiled, relieved, but then his fork hovered over the creamy sweet potato casserole. "Can I have some more of this potato? It's amazing. I could eat the whole dish."

  Ava laughed softly and slid the casserole closer to him. "The whole dish is for you."

  “When’s your birthday?” Alessandro asked, suddenly changing the subject, a hint of guilt in his voice for not knowing.

  “January ninth,” Ava replied with a small smile. “When’s yours?”

  “August first.”

  A Capricorn and a Leo would make a great couple in the world of ordinary relationships. But this was neither ordinary nor a relationship. The elephants in the room waltzed quietly as the pretend couple played out a night of normalcy in an ordinary ranch house, in an ordinary county, on an ordinary night.

  “You must be tired,” Ava said when Alessandro fall silent.

  “I feel fine when I’m with you,” Alessandro said softly. “Would it be like that if we were in a relationship, living together? I mean, we’d have dinner, I’d help you in the kitchen, of course. Then we’d sit by the fire or maybe watch a movie?”

  “Have you never had a normal relationship before?” Ava asked, her voice curious but gentle.

  “No,” Alessandro answered simply. He was being honest, despite the risk of sounding oddly creepy.

  Ava wasn’t surprised. In fact, she was relieved that he could admit it so freely. “You have commitment issues,” she said, a teasing smile on her lips.

  “I have all sorts of issues,” Alessandro replied, his voice tinged with a sadness he hadn’t meant to show. “Are you sure you want me around?”

  Ava’s expression softened, her voice quieter but sincere. “I missed you.”

  "Com'here," he murmured, his voice low and inviting. His arms reached out to gently pull Ava toward him. He kissed her, his fingers ruffling her hair and his arms getting stronger on their grip on her body. He could see her aura, blue and red, even hints of purple swirling around her, but this time, it wasn’t the colors that caught his attention. He wanted to have her in his arms and know that she desired him. He wanted Ava to invite him into the depths of her most private emotions, to prove that she truly desired him. He wanted Ava to love him, despite all his issues.

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  Alessandro took Ava to the couch and briskly took off her clothes. Her lace underwear was not like the sporty ones she wore before. He treated Ava tenderly, like the delicate lace she was. When he was joyfully welcomed by her impatient appetite, their breaths danced to the sound of a perfect melody.

  As she laid next to his calming heartbeat, Ava’s moment of comfort shattered sharply when her eyes caught the sight of faint vines of dark smoke rising from Alessandro’s palm, which rested on her arm. With each gentle stroke of his fingers against her skin, wisps of black smoke curled upward, escaping from beneath his touch. Goosebumps prickled across Ava’s arms and traveled down her spine, the same eerie sensation she had felt the night before, when she battled the Ghull’s dark presence. The same kind of fumes sizzled creeping from Alessandro’s hands, and Ava's heart sank in her chest as she recalled the words of the Ghull: You will help the prince. He will come to you for help soon.

  Did he know it? Could he see it? He was clearly suffering from something he didn’t understand, perhaps didn’t even notice. Like a wounded animal, he was lost in his unseen agony. Ava gently turned his hand upward, opening his palm. She kissed it tenderly, her eyes studying the faint tendrils of smoke rising from his hand.

  When Alessandro sat up, his gaze falling on Ava’s puzzled face, a shadow of confusion flickered within him. He was certain it was impossible for an Earthian to see the dark fumes, yet here she was, looking at his palms, fuming with purplish emotions of concern.

  “What do you see in my palm?” he finally asked.

  Ava met his confused gaze. He knew about the fumes, he could see them, feel its darkness, but he didn’t fully understand their source. He knew it wasn’t good for him, but he didn’t know how to stop it.

  “I need to show you something,” Ava said suddenly. Without waiting for a response, she grabbed his hand and led him out to the fire pit in the backyard. As they sat in the bench facing the beauty of the magnolia tree, the cool night breeze greeted them, a refreshing contrast to the warmth of the living room.

  Ava gently took his hand and placed his arm across her lap. She reached out for the light from the pot, knowing it would be there beneath the full moon. Grasping the light with her fingers, she gently pressed it against Alessandro’s arm, just as she had done to shield herself from the Ghull. Slowly, the dark fumes began to recede, washing away from Alessandro’s arm and hand, dissipating into the cool night air.

  “How did you do that?” Alessandro asked, his voice steady at first, but the calm quickly gave way to urgency as he continued. “Who are you, Ava? I need to know who you are, and what you’ve been doing to me.” His eyes, each rapid blink carrying a mix of confusion, hope, and impatience, searched desperately for what lay hidden behind Ava’s gaze.

  “Can you see it, the smoke?” Ava asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Yes, I can,” Alessandro replied, shifting his gaze away from Ava’s eyes. “And I know it’s going to kill me eventually.”

  “Kill you? No, I won’t let it kill you,” Ava said, her words more out of instinct than certainty. She wasn’t sure how she could stop it, but she knew she got something which helped him. “I don’t know how, or exactly what I’m doing, but I can handle this Ghull smoke... or whatever it is.”

  “Ghull smoke?”

  “You don’t know who gave this smoke to you, do you?” Ava asked.

  “No,” Alessandro replied. “Please, do tell me.”

  “The Ghull gave it to you,” Ava said softly. “Whether you see him or not, I don’t know why or how, but you got it from him.”

  “Ava, please, who are you? Who is this Ghull?” Alessandro’s voice cracked with a mix of fear and urgency.

  “I don’t know who I am, either,” Ava confessed naively, her gaze dropping to her hands. “I’m just a normal person. I honestly thought I was crazy, that I needed to be hospitalized, until I realized you could see the black smoke too.”

  “Do you see any other colors in the smoke, or just black?”

  “Just black, and the white that I can control myself,” Ava replied, her voice carrying the tone of a child caught in mischief. “Wait, what? What do you mean, other colors?” she asked.

  “No, nothing like that,” Alessandro replied quickly, not yet ready to share the full truth with Ava. Even if he did tell her, it would be too much to absorb in one moment. She might be on the verge of discovering a rare, powerful gift, something that could not only save him, but many others suffering in Ars Pheria.

  Where time is a cruel king, life is a captive queen.

  We all met the queen the day we were born.

  We all cried in denial, but we all bowed to her promise,

  That she would keep us alive, and that we would survive.

  I, the loyal Ghull of the Asaha, lived long to see,

  Where there is life, there is hope.

  Ava hesitated, unsure how to begin. The Ghull was not something she could easily explain. It was as though he had always been a part of her, woven into her very existence from the moment she was born. She had known of the Ghull in the same way she knew her own family, his presence was something she felt, even as a child. But explaining it to Alessandro… could words truly convey what the Ghull was?

  “To explain more, I need to show you more,” Ava said softly. “I’m exhausted, and it’s getting late. Tomorrow, we’ll face the Ghull together.”

  Alessandro was ready to spend the rest of his days in that ranch house with Ava. The next day, they would begin the second chapter of their new life together. He would wake up early and make coffee for her. She would awaken to the smell of the coffee, and they would have all the time in the world. They would talk, and there would be no more secrets. He closed his eyes and dove into the deep sea of hope.

  In his dream the prince walked through a dense dark smoke.

  In the darkness he did not stumble, he did not choke.

  He felt the heat of fire under his red cloak.

  He peeked and sought but he could not invoke.

  When he lost his way, he spoke:

  “Let me be! I am the Lord of the smoke.”

  When Alessandro first stepped foot on Earth he saw many colors of fumes. Human emotions were as many as the colors in the spectrum. Each human had a different spectrum of fumes. Some redder some greener, some bluer some yellower. Some all in blue sometimes, some all in purple. All were beautiful, all were bright. For an Ars Pherian colors meant delight. Young Prince Alessandro asked… whether anyone could see black or white.